No Gravity

No, thank you

Gravity isn’t the only thing that lacking from problematic space combat game No Gravity.

The lack of feedback, any form of cohesiveness, and bland action add up to a game that may as well have been called No Fun.

No gravitas

The introduction, which is entirely too long for its own good, sets out a relatively interesting premise: a mind-altering disease has ravaged the world. Then, seemingly ignoring the painfully long primer, the game buckles you into a space ship and tasks you with shooting asteroids to clear a path for a convoy.

This lack of connection between premise and gameplay continues throughout, with each mission seemingly detached from the previous one, existing as an isolated situation rather than part of a connected whole.

The game steadfastly refuses to offer any guidance on the various virtual controls, nor any feedback concerning enemies or even your own ship. There's no warning, for instance, that the game can disable the 'boost' button, or that blown-up asteroids can drop power-ups - it feels as though the rules are made up as you go along.

Ham-crafted

Despite the apparent lack of attention to the game's design, the responsiveness of the three playable ships and the graphics have been handled with care.

The missions tend to boil down to simply 'go here, shoot this' - it’s more Wing Commander than Galaxy on Fire 2, but without the former’s impressively hammy plot and memorable characters to break up the boring combat.

Any hope of interesting dogfights in No Gravity are scuppered by the lack of visual feedback on selected enemies, which tend to mindlessly fly off screen and get lost in a sea of similar red arrows.

You can’t tell which are damaged, either, which doesn’t help when the only evasive manoeuvre is a barrel-roll that doesn’t actually protect you from enemy fire.

While No Gravity may look like the next great space combat game for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, its confused gameplay and baffling design provide no enjoyment.